Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 72.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,398 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 4,984 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,606,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 541 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,162 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,653,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 982 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,092 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $665.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $653.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $4.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $506.26. The stock had a trading volume of 414,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,372,092. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $523.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $481.20. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $403.16 and a twelve month high of $560.25. The firm has a market cap of $128.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.28.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.52 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company applies expertise in the science of human disease to discover therapies that address significant unmet medical needs.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko/Symkevi, and Trikafta/Kaftrio. These medicines target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis for patients with specific mutations in the CFTR gene.